One thought on “Studying autoinflammatory diseases: the past, present, and a perspective for the future”

Encouraging to read that online patient communities are beginning to crossover into the world of research. Sites such as http://csn.cancer.org/ contribute valuable information and provide support to patient communities as well as improving outcomes. There is a place for acknowledging these resources that encourage respectful and informed sharing. Face to face surgery consultations do not serve the same need. The surgeon or physician is only seeing the individual in front of the desk. Even research studies are limited in their scope for identifying particular patterns. In a patient forum there is a collaborative type of learning and sharing that is generally not part of the patient/doctor dialogue during consultation and is not limited in the same way that specific research studies may be.